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Household Uses for Lemons | Natural Cleaning & Home Remedies

Lemons, lemon slices, and lemon seeds on a white table

Find out how to use lemons around the house.

Written By: Catherine Boeckmann Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Lemons are good for more than just adding flavor to recipes: They’re also very useful around the house! Here are some of the best uses for lemons and lemon juice.

Household Uses for Lemons

Lemon Health Remedies

  • For a sore throat or bad breath, gargle with some lemon juice.
  • After a shampoo, rinse your hair with lemon juice to make it shine. Mix the strained juice of a lemon in an eight-ounce glass of warm water.
  • Suck on a lemon to settle an upset stomach.

In the Kitchen

  • Clean discolored utensils with a cloth dipped in lemon juice. Rinse with warm water.
  • Toss used lemons into your garbage disposal to help keep it clean and smelling fresh.
  • Use one part lemon juice and two parts salt to scour chinaware to its original luster.
  • Rub kitchen and bathroom faucets with lemon peel. Wash and dry with a soft cloth to shine and remove spots.
  • Fresh lemon juice in rinse water removes soap film from the interiors of ovens and refrigerators.
  • Fish or onion odor on your hands can be removed by rubbing them with fresh lemons.
  • To get odors out of wooden rolling pins, bowls, or cutting boards, rub with a piece of lemon. Don’t rinse: The wood will absorb the lemon juice.
  • Clean copper pots by cutting a lemon in half and rubbing the cut side with salt until the salt sticks. Rub the lemon onto the metal, rinse with hot water, and polish dry.

Cleaning with Lemons

  • Remove scratches on furniture by mixing equal parts of lemon juice and salad oil and rubbing it on the scratches with a soft cloth.
  • To make furniture polish, mix one part lemon juice and two parts olive oil.
  • To clean the surface of white marble or ivory (such as piano keys), rub with half a lemon, or make a lemon juice and salt paste. Wipe with a clean, wet cloth.
  • To renew hardened paintbrushes, dip them into boiling lemon juice. Lower the heat and leave the brush for 15 minutes, then wash it in soapy water.
  • To remove dried paint from glass, apply hot lemon juice with a soft cloth. Leave until nearly dry, and then wipe off.
  • Create your own air freshener: Slice some lemons, cover with water, and let simmer in a pot for about an hour. (This will also clean your aluminum pots!)
  • Before you start to vacuum, put a few drops of lemon juice in the dust bag. It will make the house smell fresh.
  • Get grimy cotton socks white again by boiling them in water with a slice of lemon.

Using Lemons Outdoors

  • Save lemon and orange rinds to deter squirrels and cats from digging in the garden. Store rinds in the freezer during the winter, and then bury them just under the surface of the garden periodically throughout the spring and summer.
  • A few drops of lemon juice in outdoor house paint will keep insects away while you are painting and until the paint dries.
  • Mix one tablespoon of lemon juice with two tablespoons of salt to make a rust-removing scrub.
household uses for lemons

Want to grow your own lemons? Check out our Citrus Fruit Growing Guide for planting, growing, and harvesting advice.

What are some of your favorite lemon hints and tips? Post Below! 

Cleaning

About The Author

Catherine Boeckmann

Catherine Boeckmann

Executive Digital Editor and Master Gardener

Catherine Boeckmann loves nature, stargazing, and gardening so it’s not surprising that she and The Old Farmer’s Almanac found each other. She leads digital content for the Almanac website, and is also a certified master gardener in the state of Indiana.

Read more from Catherine Boeckmann

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Comments

<span>Jz</span> Sun, 05/04/2014 - 03:05
It's true!! I haven't used deodorant in over six months since switching to lemon juice. Wayyyy better, keeps me and my clothing fresh!!
<span>Poorichard</span> Fri, 09/17/2010 - 18:04
they make great lemmonaide too!!but don't use them on a kite n an electrical storm no good.
<span>Sherijfowler</span> Fri, 09/17/2010 - 17:12
We boil down cut lemons into a tea, salt and drink as warm as you can for chest congestion. Works wonderful!
<span>Anonymousbosch In Mi</span> Tue, 08/28/2012 - 22:34
Sounds like a folk remedy my Dad kept making when I was sick as a dog with flu and bronchitis as an adult--except he'd add a shot of whiskey, a good dash of tabasco, and a good dose of honey to sweeten it (and make it a little more palatable) as well. Boy, did I sleep... It really helped loosen the congestion though, and I usually felt a bit better and nearly human in the morning from the deep sleep.
<span>Maryeagee</span> Mon, 08/15/2011 - 18:43
Sherijfowler: This sounds like a great tip, but how is the taste? My old Granny from the hills of KY used to make all kinds of homemade remedies. She lived to be one hundred. My motto is: When life stinks, God gives us lemons.
<span>Dianeclaudio</span> Tue, 08/10/2010 - 07:32
My best friend & I were joking around one evening over dinner. She was saying the skin on her her elbows were really rough, dry & discolored. I told her,jokingly, to put lemon juice on them. Well, she did. She uses it as a regular beauty regimen now. Her elbows are no longer rough.
<span>Kelly Jones 2</span> Mon, 08/09/2010 - 20:58
To clean and remove water spots on glass shower/bath enclosures, just cut a lemon in half, pour baking soda on the cut lemon and rub the glass ~ can be used on the chrome trim and faucets! Plus it makes the bathroom smell fresh and clean too!
<span>Dacota Naish</span> Mon, 10/28/2013 - 23:45
YES, I used SALT with my grapefruit-peel-dish-sponges on my Corning-glass-pots today. All the hard-water-rings wiped clean, down to the old, forgotten shine of the magic Jena-Glass ... :) After soaking them overnight with the grape-fruit peels inside, of course, but from that the hardened salts never wiped clean. The only way I knew how to remove them was by soaking in vinegar. I very much prefer the citrus-grove smell. Thanks, Kelster5. Next: I'll try it on the chrome.
<span>Cmonster</span> Thu, 08/05/2010 - 18:04
I discovered this by accident a few weeks ago. I sip on a very large insulated cup of tea through the day and evening. If I use Splenda, it tends to sour quicker for some reason (hmmmmm...maybe stop using Splenda!?). I can slow down the "souring" by adding lemon juice or Real Lemon. Just a few drops. It works even better without the Splenda, of course. I can go to bed with a full cup at night and still be able to drink it into the next morning. The few drops of lemon seems to really liven up sugar-free drinks also. I don't know what it does, but it makes those nasty things tolerable when I occasionally "jones" for a soft drink. It is most awesome in diet root beer, but that is a personal taste. It's just fresher tasting. Mind you, just use a few drops of Real Lemon! Enjoy! :)
<span>Healthrunature</span> Tue, 04/23/2013 - 14:13
Splenda is a chemical, not recognized by the human digestive system, causes many health problems and does not help with weight loss. Lemon water will help though, preferably warm. Skip the blue, pink and yellow packets. Stick to Real food. Your body will thank you